One for me and one for E.V.

So I did some sewing last Saturday. It was really fun. I used two patterns from a great new book by fabric designer, Heather Ross called Weekend Sewing. I made one thing for myself and one thing for the baby. (I'd love to tell you her name, but I'm afraid to jinx it, so we will go with her initials, E.V., for now.)

For myself, I made the Weekend-Away Travel Bag.

Purple make-up bag, approximate dimensions 9" x 7" x 3"

The outer fabric is by this Japanese designer. I ordered it from superbuzzy.com a while back and just got around to using it. For the lining I used some lavender fabric with purple dots from the Hancock that I had in my stash. I liked the pattern, but I'll probably make some adjustments next time I make this bag. I wasn't pleased with how it all went together in the last step, so I'll rethink that before I try it again. Overall, it is PERFECT for it's intended use: a make-up bag to take to the hospital.

For little E.V., I made Lucy's Kimono.

Kimono styled shirt with side ties in a super fun fabric with red Maltese crosses!!

The main fabric is by Amy Butler from her Belle line. The binding is by Sandi Henderson from her Farmers Market line. This was a super easy project. I'm going to make more of these. I'll probably have to adjust the pattern (currently newborn to three months) so that E.V. will have some longer-wearing jackets for the fall. The only problem with this pattern is that it calls for 1/2 yard of contrast bias tape for the binding and I used 1 and 1/2 yards. Most likely it was just a typo, and it wasn't that big of an issue since I made my own bias binding with one of these.

All in all, these were two fun projects that led to some nice "instant-gratification" sewing!

WILL and WON'T

I'm due in four weeks - June 29 - so most likely I'll have a baby by the end of the month. (Wow!) I was pondering the change from holding my baby on the inside to holding my baby on the outside and I thought I should write some of those thoughts down. It turned into a list of pairs of things I WILL and WON'T miss about pregnancy.

I WILL miss feeling her move around inside of me.
I WON'T miss the use of my organs as trampolines and punching bags.

I WILL miss having a reason to rest and put my feet up.
I WON'T miss my feet being so swollen as a reason that I HAVE to rest and put my feet up.

I WILL miss people's genuine interest in my health and well being.
I WON'T miss being photographed and touched like some roadside attraction. ("Look Ma, its the world's only two headed goat. Can I pet it . . . them . . . it?" If we are friends, it is one thing - if not, lens cap on and paws off, please.)

I WILL miss people telling me how pregnancy must agree with me because I look so nice.
I WON'T miss comments like "Are you sure you are going to make it four more weeks. You're huge!"

I WILL miss being allowed to wear flip-flops to work.
I WON'T miss falling over like a weeble-wobble when I try to put on any shoes but slip-ons.

I WILL miss baby hiccups. (Totally cool and weird at the same time.)
I WON'T miss being out of breath after one flight of steps.

I WILL miss eating ice cream every day.
I WON'T miss being so hot that I feel like I should climb into the ice cream.

I WILL miss shiny hair and nails.
I WON'T miss trying to reach around my baby belly to shave my legs. (Seriously, it's kinda like trying to shave at camp again!)

I WILL miss sleeping (I hear that babies disrupt that).
I WON'T miss arranging five pillows to try to get comfortable in the bed.

I WILL miss knowing that my baby is safe, well and warm inside of me.
I WON'T miss the anticipation of meeting this miracle for the first time.

I really enjoy the duality of life, and this exercise pointed to that for me. We would all like our situations to be perfect all the time. But on the other hand, if they were spotless, how could we appreciate the beauty in the contrast? Would the sunset be so beautiful, if it weren't for the rain clouds? Perhaps that is why pregnancy can be, and birth is so painful - to give you a sense of the wideness and depth of the joy and love you will feel when you finally get to meet your child.

So, for these last few weeks, I'll be getting through all of this fleeting pain of pregnancy to get to the wonder of a little gooey bundle of joy. I can't wait!

100th post . . .

So this is the 100th post! I thought I'd show y'all a couple of the pictures from the 4d ultrasound. This is especially appropriate because I'm due one month from today. I hope she makes it that long because then she would share a birthday with my grandfather.

She looks so sweet in this one. These were done at 31 weeks. That is her foot up in front of her face and her hand under her chin. At that point she was sitting breach. I'm not sure if she still is. She may be. We will find out at our appointment on Tuesday.

She was totally over the whole process in this picture. This was the last picture they got. After this she turned away. I'm sure she was just warming those lungs up for the real deal.

We are so excited and can't wait to meet her!!!

Dog update . . .

I thought you might want to get an update on the dogs. They are doing well!Winni really loves the windows in the loft. They are also at the perfect height for her to look out of. She also likes the deck. No pictures yet, but she enjoys sitting out there and looking down at the yard.

Chica is the sentinel. She would sit in this chair all day long and bark at all of the small animals in the yard, the mailman, the neighbors, etc. Ginny likes this spot, too.

Here's Calvin. Still kickin'. He has his annual vet appointment in a few weeks. Last year they said he wasn't doing too great and to watch for his appetite to ebb. He's still first in line (well tied for first with Winni) when it's time for food in the morning. We think it is due to having three young girls in the house that keeps him young!!

Here's a rare still pose from Ginny. Normally she is moving so fast that all the camera sees is a black blur. She is still the sweetest dog of the bunch. A mess, and a digger, and a little attention hungry, but totally the sweetest dog of the bunch.

This is what she normally looks like. - tongue out from running hot laps around the yard.

We are pretty lucky and blessed to have such great dogs. I can't wait to see how they are with the baby. I'm sure they will love her as much as we do!

We're so close . . .

So the house is coming along great. We are so close to being done!!! Here are some pictures of our progress.

Bedroom with slate fireplace surround and bamboo flooring in

View from the back door toward the dining room and the existing house

Bedroom from the living area toward the loft

Bathroom showing the vanity and tile

Bathroom showing the whirlpool tub, which is working and is FANTASTIC!!!!

Bathroom showing the shower entrance. It is really hard to photograph the bathroom because of all of the angles.

Deck with metal handrail that David welded. It looks GREAT!!!!

So that's where we stand. It's coming long. We don't have too much left to do. We can move into the bedroom as soon as the baseboards are in. I can't wait!!